Chrysler and GM Dealers TERMINATED without so much as a valid reason!

The sad stories keep coming. Another family owned auto dealership is told via form letter or email that they are no longer wanted. It's over. You're done. You are not a part of the "new" company. If you've read the story of the Hobart, Indiana or the Mesa, Arizona dealerships it had to bring tears to your eyes. If not, google the stories. It is just outrageous that the government demanded that Chrysler and GM "cull" the heard. I'm a former General Motors dealer and I can ASSURE you that our dealership didn't cost GM a dime! We PAID for every mandatory program, computer, essential tool, communication system and any other arbitrary item the factory could come up with. Now the media is suggesting that cutting dealerships will save the automakers untold millions of dollars. Are you kidding me? The result is going to be a far LOWER SATISFACTION rating from consumers who have to travel further to get service on their vehicle. No Chrysler dealers in Kalamazoo or Holland? If I live in either of those cities, you'll soon find a Honda or a Toyota in my driveway. I will have supported a local dealer and I'll be confident in service after the sale. Great move GOVERNMENT MOTORS. The guys calling the shots just don't have a clue. To all of the hundreds of wrongly terminated dealerships throughout the US, those cities and clients will soon agree: You just don't know what's good 'til it's GONE! I'll be anxiously watching the market share of Chrysler and GM. Going down anyone?

Thanks for hiring me as CEO but I really don't know anything about cars!

Can you believe that the newly government appointed chairman of GENERAL MOTORS made that very statement? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! Let's just go back just a few months ago: We were told by the president of GM, the Governor of Michigan and the President of the United States that a GM bankruptcy would be disastrous to the economy and it should not be a consideration. Billions were poured into GM in order to prevent the UNTHINKABLE BK. Well now, the billions didn't help and GM filed. Suddenly, this CLEANSING of GM into the "new/good" GM and the old "bad GM" will make everything hunky dory. The US and CANADIAN governments plus the UAW are all now in charge of what used to be the biggest company in the world. Remember the saying "What's good for GM is good for the country."
That brings us to the newly hired Chairman. This man ADMITS that he knows nothing about automobiles! He says a business is a business so it shouldn't be a big deal for him to call the shots. No big deal, right? Think about this: Would you feel confident if you were hospitalized and found out the CEO didn't know anything about health care? How about hiring a construction company whose CEO said "hey, a business is a business." I would really be confident if the President of a college where my child was considering paying tens of thousands of dollars to attend told parents, boy, I really don't have any experience in education, but I did run a public utility once! That's what the new GM chairman used to do! I never paid any attention to those crazy Holiday Inn Express commercials, but they're starting to make sense now! I guess he needs the job since his golden parachute was only 150 million from AT&T. If this is how our government is going to FIX General Motors, then you'd better set your watch by an AMTRAK train schedule. The same people that straightened out our trains are now going to fix our automobiles. I can't wait to hear about some senator that tells GM he has a great idea for a new car. This is going to get comical. My Dad was a GM dealer for over 20 years. I'm thankful he's not here to witness this mess!

They don't have a clue! Is GM Government Motors or Barak's Big Mess BBM?

What a colossal mess! General Motors became one of the most expensive bankruptcies in American history on Monday. After pouring billions of our money into GM since last fall and warning us that the B word would be devastating, we are now being told that this approach will create a "new" GM owned by the US, CANADA and the UAW! That means Chrysler and GM are owned by their union and the government. Well, it sure made AMTRAK the envy of public transportation didn't it? I may be wrong, but I don't think that Amtrak has ever been profitable and we all know how wonderful the service is! Petty politics have already entered the picture with Congressmen demanding that plants from the "old GM" be kept open in their respective districts irregardless of any type of analytical evaluation of the viability of the location. Can you imagine if a Congressman has a "can't miss" idea for a new car design? I have information from GM engineers that they can't make any product decisions without clearing it with treasury! You know that the folks at FORD are just jubilant! Ford has expressed concern that with the government running the competition the playing field may not be a level one. It is going to get very interesting.....
One thing that really bugs me from all of this is that Chrysler and GM advertising is now telling us how great the "new" companies are and everything is rosy once again. GM has many great vehicles available right now. Chrysler has virtually none and there aren't any on the horizon any time soon. Fiat can't have a car ready for sale in the US for at least 20 months so just how will that help? GM, on the other hand, has done nothing to earn the consumer's confidence. If they want to get folks back into the showrooms, some of which have stayed away for a whole generation, they should tell it like it is. GM should run ads that tell consumers: America, we apologize for our actions during past 15 years. During the 80's and 90's we built some pretty poor vehicles in terms of styling, quality and customer service. We fell in love with big trucks and sport utilities and each unit made us a lot of money. Our factories were cranking out Yukons and Tahoes like the golden goose. Our number one volume customers were the RENTAL companies. We gave them lower prices than even our dealers PLUS we agreed to buy all of them back after 6 months or a year of use. They could care less about styling or quality or resale value. We messed up so badly that now we have paid the ultimate price: bankruptcy.
The sad thing is that GM is building some world class vehicles right now. The Malibu, Vibe, CTS, Corvette, Camaro, Outlook, Lacrosse are some examples of what the GM design staff is capable of. What GM is ignoring, is the promise that GM dealerships must meet the most stringent service and business practice standards in the industry. Commit to the client who owns your product, GM. I don't think that this will ever happen. With the government calling the shots, client satisfaction will be at the bottom of corporate priorities. Have you driven a Ford lately??